Graveyard of Dreams
---- Yukiko stood in the middle of what was meant to be the arena of her next battle, sand blew effortlessly around the plethora of gigantic interweaving trunks and roots of dead trees whose massive bodies looked as though they'd been destroyed in some form of powerful blast. Their sharp, blade-like jagged tops pointing toward the bright and radiating sun which beat down on them like the heat of mid-summer in the city of Crocus. Not a single cloud rested in the azure blanket of sky high above them despite the cracking lands obvious pleas for rain. She scanned her surroundings, making note of how the roots interweaved to create several archways and bridges that may serve her well during the duration of the fight. She would be alone in this fight and would have to rely solely on her own ingenuity and skill to pave the path to victory. Turning her head she let her eyes fall on her opponent, drawing her sword to be ready when the buzzer sounded for their fight to begin. Taking a deep breath she exhales it in the form of a cold and icy breath, tightening her grip on the handle as she knew this fight would decide which of them would get the position of Sentinel. Sakura felt rather confident as she looked at her opponent up and down, she was not thinking that this fight was going to be easy yet she felt confident, and it was like a sudden burst of energy had bursted though as she stood next to a dead yet huge tree trunk. She normally didn't feel heat but she certainly felt the hot sand on her feet, it wasn't burning her quite yet but it was warm, making her feel a little odd. Since she was used to resisting fire she never had felt the heat in quite a while. Sakura didn't move towards Yukiko, however, she felt like the girl was clever and moving would only cause problems for her, she had protection at the moment thanks to the tree trunk but so did she. The rest of the land was empty or filled with more giant dead tree trunks, she didn't have many places to hide but it was better than last time where she barely managed to win and was in an open space. The only difference here is I don't have James who can help take in some hits for me or aid me in any shape or form ''Sakura noted in her head as she waved at Yukiko, seeming quite friendly towards the woman. "Name's Sakura, hope you don't mind the heat, this battle might be a bit dry because of it!" Sakura shouted over at Yukiko before smirking a little. This is a perfect playground for her if she ever gets the chance to use Take Over, Sakura knew that well and she also knew this battle depended on what magic this woman would be using to try and counter Sakura. With some chains in hand Sakura stood her ground, still smirking and feeling confident even if the odds were not in her favour. "Yukiko, and never you mind, heat's never been much of a problem for me." She spoke coldly, a smirk forming on her face before she took in a deep breath, casting '''Blizzard God's Bellow' in its mist form. The icy mist forming a large cloud in hopes of Obscuring Sakura's vision while Yukiko ran not toward but away from the red haired woman in hope of finding a hiding place among the many large, dead trees that found themselves spread out around their battlefield. Finding a spot within a hollowed out trunk with several large holes big enough for her to view out of while still remaining hidden she concealed herself while waiting for the icy mist to begin to dissipate. She wondered if her opponent had readied herself for an attack the moment she saw the mist began to obscure her sight and if she was still waiting for that attack to come. Tightening her grip on her sword she kneeled, ready to plan her next move. Sakura nodded towards Yukiko looking her up and down once more before Yukiko took in a deep breath. Sakura instantly tried to move away, knowing that a roar or something of the kind of an element would be coming straight for her but was surprised as mist appeared instead. Sakura had fought against a few slayers in her time but this was new which scared her a little. It became clear to Sakura that Yukiko was not going to be someone who would come and run straight at her but someone who would think her moves before acting, this was good and bad for Sakura. Good since it meant she had time now to Take Over, it would be the earliest in a fight she would of ever changed, but bad since it showed that this woman was very experienced in fights. Sakura went up in flames once more and her clothes burned off and were quickly replaced with the same outfit as last time, the colours of fire reflected off the song to really look like flames on Sakura body. She knew she didn't move to attack but she was happy now, she felt safer and prepared for the upcoming fight against Yukiko and felt even safer as she equipped her flame sword Don, that looked like a normal sword that had been under 1,000 degrees. The black metal was the place on this sword that was cold-ish, and that was the handle, the rest would burn anyone who touched it. Sakura was pleased with herself as she stood her ground, waiting for Yukiko to make her move. Yukiko watched from her safe position as Sakura initiated her takeover, the sight of flames made Yukiko let out an internal sigh. Another fire-using mage it seems. It would be nice to see another ice mage every once in a while. She thought to herself, turning away so that she could begin to think. She didn't want to go in guns blazing, despite her God Slayer magic she knew the angelic form that Sakura has taken on might be a force to be reckoned with if she simply decided to face it head. on. Letting the sword be held by her left hand she reached into her pocket and pulled out her planetary key. Holding out the key she spoke, "Freya, spirit of Mercury, hear my call. I summon thee to this world to fight with honor and integrity in the pursuit of my own noble and righteous dreams. Act as my sword, act as my shield, act as my partner and walk this path alongside me." She spoke under her breath before the gate opened and the divine huntress of Mercury was summoned fourth. Freya appeared before her, bowing as she asked for her master's orders. "Memory make, shadow puppetry," Yukiko said before Freya nodded, taking to the sky on her own angelic wings before casting the spell. Several black shadows burst from the ground around Yukiko, each taking on her shape and form before they spread out from the tree in every direction, likely drawing Sakura's attention if Freya didn't already occupy it. She hoped Sakura would believe that she was among the shadow clones that had run to hide all over the arena. Freya floated high above Yukiko who intended to lie low for a bit to gauge her enemies abilities of the power of Freya did not destroy her immediately. Freya's eyes locked onto Sakura as she drew her sword, "Stay your blade or swiftly taste my own!" She said as she quickly flew toward the red-haired woman, landing on the ground just over ten feet away and raising her shield as she prepared for retaliation. The spirit, Freya, appearing before Sakura was quite surprising to her especially with all the shadows that Freya created surrounding her, making her feel like she had nowhere to escape to if needed be. Sakura had no idea if it was Freya who created these copies or Yukiko but whoever it was Sakura had never seen this kind of magic before and certainly didn't seem to enjoy the sight of it. Sakura wasn't sure what to attack but with Freya in front of her, she didn't want to turn her back on her but she wasn't sure about the shadows at all and what they could do. Sakura was conflicted. Holding onto her sword tightly, she looked at Freya. Sakura couldn't tell if she was a celestial or familiar spirit, she knew it couldn't be another person since this match was supposed to be a 1v1 as far as she knew, but she decided that whatever she was she was strong and would be a problem if she didn't get rid of her fast. The problem was how and as Sakura's feet sank into the sand a little, she came up with an idea. Sakura stabbed the ground with her sword, allowing her Fire Magic to travel through it and set the ground a light, causing the sand to heat up even more and reach melting point! Sakura did this to a small-ish area which contained her and Freya inside the square of melted sand. To ensure Freya didn't just move out of the way, Sakura also created a wall of fire as she jumped up on her sword and balanced on it. It was uncomfortable but it ensured that if her resistance to fire wasn't enough to keep her safe, the cool handle that had be designed to keep heat away would. For the first time in a long time, Sakura sweated thanks to the heat she had created. Freya felt the hot sand on her armored feet, heating the metal as the molten sand began to surround her. Regardless, Freya showed no worry or fear at her new dilemma but instead, her face remained that of a gallant knight and was unmoved. She raised her sword toward Sakura, "Then you leave me no choice." She spoke before casting Memory Make: Aquatic Zone. Their entire arena entering a separate dimension which was completely different from that of the desert like one they'd been in before. Their new battleground appearing to be a cave of some kind whose bottom was filled with several feet of water. Several rock islands jutted from the water with no clear pattern to them. The sudden appearance of the water solidifying the sand, Freya swinging her sword to the side to smash out of the container and taking to the air. She was unable to see what was happening with the woman's flame sword as the steam rolling off of it was too thick to tell whether or not it was being put out by the sudden amount of water. Watching the Terrain Effect spell happen a smirk coming over her face when she saw that it was water, Yukiko reached out from behind her rock and cast Ice God's Arena over the water which instantly froze the first foot of water leading to and directly around the sword Sakura had been standing on in hopes of keeping her in place. As she did this, Freya has turned her word toward Sakura and used the sword spell know as Skyward reach to extend her sword in hopes of either impaling the redhead or separating her from the sword thus leaving her without a weapon. Sakura couldn't help but let her confidence slip away at the sight of water. It seemed ironic that a fire mage was afraid from the water but Sakura had always been scared of water since she never been taught how to swim. With the sudden lost of her weapon thanks to the ice that now surronded it, Sakura felt terrfied, she decided to leave it behind and focus on the heavy task on getting air! Sakura croached dowqn and jumped as far as she could - which wasn't far thanks to the water pulling her down - and furiously kicked her legs in hope of getting up for air. The water sloshed and tried to force Sakura down, however, nothing could stop Sakura now as she not only kicked but also started to fly underwater creating enough force to alllow her to escape the hell hole of water and take a deep breath. Sakura didn't have much room to breath, the cave forcing her in a small area but that didn't bother her, she felt a lot freeer than under there."Okay..." Sakura said, still taking in her breath. "Let's not do that again!" Freya watched with delight as her opponent fell into the water, exiting soaking wet and leaving behind her weapon. With the weapon out of Sakura's hand, Freya cast Erase to erase the sword from existence for a short period of time until the spell wore off some time after the fight or she was defeated however unlikely the latter may be. "Look at you, shivering like a wet kitten. It's almost worthy of my pity but alas, I must see this through until the end as it is what my master wishes." Freya said as her sword retracted back to its original length and pointing it again at Sakura, "Memory Make-Gravity Distortion: Pull!" She yelled as the forces of gravity began attempting to pull down the red haired mage onto Freya's large sword. Her shield at the ready in case Sakura attempts anything foolish. This fight was not going the way Sakura expected yet she smiled. An easy fight would be boring and Freya and Yukiko was putting up an exciting fight for sure. Sakura didn't have much time to think this through as she started to get pulled towards Freya, whose magic Sakura had never seen before but it kind of explained why she could create all kinds of things as it seemed to Sakura that the magic was a very powerful and unique type. Sakura decided the best way to go about this was to go all out with her axe as the flames appeared and so did her axe, Sakura made sure to push the blade out of the way to avoid contact and anything wounds to deal with but now she was close to Freya and had no way to oppose this. Sakura bit her bottom lip, this battle was really not going her way at all but she didn't lose hope as she tried to ignore the pull of gravity and focus on her axe. The axe could melt the sword but only if the contact was there long enough and something told Sakura that Freya would realise this before she got the chance to break the sword and turn this battle the other way around. The axe hit the side of the sword, pushing it out of the way and sliding down the length of the blade before hitting against the shield with tremendous force. Freya felt the metal buckle slightly before snapping back into place as she pushed up against the blade of the axe and moved back, sliding several feet and using her wings to maintain her current position only a few inches above the water. Using the few moments that Sakura would likely need to recover she raised her sword above her head and cast her Six Path Strike. While her blade would appear to only come from one single direction the strike would come from six those six positions being both her shoulders, her sides in an attempt to cut into her chest, from below to but straight down the middle and of course from above her her blade currently resided. The strikes would be quick, Freya trading defense for offense this time around as she was unable to raise her shield due to the directions of the strikes preventing her from doing just that which was the spells glaring weakness. Sakura took a deep breath as she managed to dodge the first attack but with the next attack incoming, Sakura didn't have any time to try and relax. As the next incoming attacks started to come towards her, Sakura wasn't sure how to keep this up. She had plenty of magic, that wasn't the problem for once, instead she was running out of ideas mentally on how to keep dodging the attacks Freya threw at her while Yukiko watched behind, pretty much enjoying life! Sakura couldn't handle it and with the Six Path Strike coming down towards her, looking like it was about to slice her in half, Sakura decided to argue and hate herself later on, when she had the time. Instead Sakura took another deep breath and stopped flaping her wings towards Freya but instead suddenly put all her effort into being in the water. Sakura shook her head as she sunk in the water, the gravity pulling on her and causing her pain as she stayed under water. I thought I said I didn't want to do this again, Sakura thought as she couldn't help but hate the wet and cold water. Freya's eyes narrowed at her missed attack, feeling her knighthood insulted by her inability to handle someone who to her would be considered little more than a child in age. However, her efforts would not be for not. With Sakura underwater, she activated the whirlpool effect of the Terrain effect which would cause the currents to become raging as several whirlpools would form all around the giant pool which would seek to pull her in, where said whirlpools lead no one truly knew but nothing swallowed by them was ever seen again. She flew higher before moving to land on one of the rock platforms all around the water soaked arena. "For your own sake, you'd best hope you drown as even I haven't the slightest clue what will await you if you enter one of those whirlpools alive." Freya said, doing her best to keep her eyes on Sakura, knowing the girl wasn't a strong swimmer based on how quickly she seemed to exit the water last time. However, how quickly she'd used it to dodge her strike made her question the validity of her observation but who wouldn't take their chances swimming when being cut in half was almost certain death for a human.